Islamic State suicide bombers and fighters struck targets on Saturday in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra, where security forces and their Shi`ite militia allies have been gathering for an offensive against the radical Sunni militants.

A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden armoured vehicle into houses used by Shiite militiamen north of the Iraqi city of Samarra, killing at least 17 people, police and medical sources said Tuesday.

At least 14 people were wounded by mortar fire near an important Shi`ite shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra, officials and security sources said on Tuesday, as the Shi`ite-led government fights a major Sunni insurgency.